Press Release - Aug 29, 2000
The strengths of Hong Kong are flexibility and the ability to adjust to changes quickly particularly in view of the impact of China's imminent accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), said acting Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Eddie Cheung.

Speaking at the Pacific Coast Association of Port Authorities' 87th Annual Conference in Richmond, British Columbia, Mr. Cheung said while Hong Kong was the number one container port in the world in 1999 with a container throughput of 16.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the government must not be complacent in the light of competition from ports in southern China.

Pointing out where the opportunities lie, he said imports and exports would grow substantially after China's accession to the WTO. Mainland enterprises had to continue to rely on Hong Kong's port facilities in the foreseeable future.

It is expected that growth in China trade will contribute to an increase of Hong Kong's GDP by 5.5 per cent by 2010, Mr. Cheung said.

On the other hand, Hong Kong faces competition from ports in southern China such as Yantian and Shekou where 1.9 million standard containers were handled in 1998, a 71 per cent increase over 1997.

In order to balance the risks and opportunities, Mr. Cheung said Hong Kong's port development strategy was to SPUR (specialise, promote, upgrade and realign).

Southern China ports like Yantian and Shekon can specialize in serving central and western China while Hong Kong is best located to specialize in serving Southern China.

"Hong Kong's specialisation as a hub in river trade cargo is emerging," he said, adding that the first dedicated river trade terminal was being built to collect and consolidate cargoes brought down from smaller ports in the Pearl River Delta via river trade vessels before they are exported overseas.

The next step is to promote Hong Kong as an international logistic centre by organising international conferences to let more overseas enterprises recognize the opportunities in Hong Kong.

He also emphasized on the importance of upgrading infrastructure. Construction of the new Container Terminal No. 9 (CT9) has begun and when completed in 2004, will be able to handle 2.6 million TEUs a year to cope with forecast growth for the next 10 years.

Southern China and Hong Kong are coordinating on regional port development to reduce excessive short-term competition and maximize the benefits of regional and functional specialisation, Mr. Cheung said, concluding that Hong Kong must strive to upgrade the infrastructure and human resources.

For further information please contact Chief Information Officer, Jean Chan.